DOEs Bayside Hills Purchase Up In Air

If the Department of Education is still interested in buying the Jewish Center of Bayside Hills and adjacent homes in order to build an Early Childhood Center, someone might want to let those homeowners know.
Last month, Rick Jones learned that the city wanted to buy his home at 48-10 212th Street to make way for the school and since then, Jones has been waiting for answers from the city.
"Honestly, right now I dont know which way Im going," he said. "Because I dont know how this is going to affect me."
In the letter Jones received from the New York City School Construction Authority, attorney Gregory P. Shaw described a plan to demolish the Jewish Center of Bayside Hills and build the school. Because Jones lives next to the center, he and another adjacent homeowner, Susan Ling, were asked if they wanted to sell.
Jones raised the issue with Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a June 29 town hall meeting and Deputy Mayor for Policy Dennis M. Walcott promised to organize a gathering between the property owners and the construction authority. But the meeting, scheduled for July 8, has not yet materialized.
"Weve been in conversation with some of the homeowners," Walcott said.
Walcott plans to reschedule the meeting for August or mid-September so all interested parties can attend, he said. Specifically, the president of the Bayside Hills Civic Association is on vacation.
The associations former president, Community Board 11 Chairman Jerry M. Iannece, said he requested a large meeting because he wants the city to answer questions publicly. Iannece suspects that the school is already on its way and he thinks a larger meeting will spur the city to listen to input, rather than rolling over attendees of a small gathering.
"I will not have a meeting like that if its a done deal," Iannece said. "We need to know some meaningful information. If you want to have a meeting where theres input, then I can do it right away."
Margie Feinberg, spokeswoman for the Department of Education, said the status of the school plans has not changed.
"It is not a universal pre-kindergarten," she said. "It has not been designated."
Jones said his most recent contact with the authority showed that the city was doing a feasibility study to determine if the school should be built. The resident said he wanted to know the results of the study so he could know how the learning center would affect him through, for instance, traffic.
"Id rather be a part of it so I can make an intelligent decision," Jones said, adding that he has not decided if he will sell.